​Boating Over the Weekend: Safety Comes First, Prevent Accidents

Family and friends look forward to much needed rest and relaxation during off hours. While the weather is still accommodating, going out on a boat to enjoy Michigan’s lakes and waterways is a popular way to spend weekends. Each year, however, people are injured or killed because of boating accidents. Small personal watercraft, such as Sea-Doos, are often involved in accidents as well.

Sachs Waldman attorneys have handled a number of boating, jet ski, and other watercraft accident cases, with the majority of them, unfortunately, involving deaths. This weekend, make sure safety is your first priority.

Operator distraction or inattentiveness is the main cause of accidents according to the U.S. Coast Guard, but there are many other causal factors as well including:

• Intoxication
• Improper lookout
• Inexperienced boat operation
• Speeding
• Machinery breakdown or failure to maintain
• Failure to wear a life vest
• Improper anchoring and docking
• Not knowing the rules for boating
• Propeller accidents
• Hazardous waters

Boaters, jet skiers, and swimmers can suffer from an array of injuries due to boating accidents:

• Loss of limbs
• Broken / fractured bones
• Burn
• Concussion
• Hypothermia
• Internal organ injury
• Laceration
• Scrape / bruise
• Spinal cord injury

Michigan Gets Tough on Intoxicated Boaters

This past spring, stricter boating laws went into effect to crack down on intoxicated boating. Matching the blood alcohol content (BAC) maximum for auto drivers, the BAC maximum for boaters went down from .10 to .08.

In addition, if there are children on the boat and you are caught Operating While Intoxicated (OWI), then you could receive harsher punishment. The new stricter standard recognizes that drinking and boating is just as dangerous as drinking and driving — after all, if you couple drunk boating with speed, it can be a deadly combination. A large majority of boating injuries and deaths involve open motorboats.

Michigan and other states recognize that operating a boat while intoxicated is a serious problem, which is why it participates in Operation Dry Water, a campaign to bring awareness and enforcement of OWI laws. Each year in June before the Fourth of July holiday, Operation Dry Water holds a weekend of heightened awareness about OWIs to promote safe boating practice.

Boaters Should Get Educated on Proper Operation, Just Like Auto Drivers

A big part of the problem is boating education and preparation. Many people never get any boating instruction, putting themselves and others at risk for accidents. In 2014, for example, 77% of boating-related deaths — in which the level of operator instruction was known — involved operators who had no prior instruction at all. About 8% had received instruction from the state, 4% had received training from the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Power Squadrons, or American Red Cross, and 11% had informal education via the Internet or other sources.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) incorporates an online hub for safety and instructional classes. The Michigan DNR also provides a Handbook of Michigan Boating Laws and Responsibilities, which boaters should read before going out onto the water.

At Sachs Waldman, our experienced boating and watercraft accident attorneys regularly handle boating injury cases, and we will sit down with you to discuss your individual case in detail. If you or a loved one has been in a boating accident, we can help you seek compensation. Contact our Detroit personal injury law offices today at (313) 965-3464 or fill out our online form for a free and confidential consultation.